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Children’s License Agreement

Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (“CHOA”) provides free access to certain materials and information, documentation, forms, questionnaires and diagrams relating to the study, prevention, and treatment of concussions via this website and its related pages, including without limitation, for your reference or download (collectively, the “Concussion Program Materials”) as described in this License agreement (“Agreement”). By accessing the Concussion Program Materials, you accept and agree to the terms and conditions of this Agreement.

1. Right to Access and Use. CHOA hereby provides you a fully-paid, nontransferable, nonexclusive, personal right and license to access, download, or otherwise use any Concussion Program Materials solely for the following purposes:

(i) if you are accessing the materials as a parent, you may use the Concussion Program Materials for your personal, non-commercial use to educate yourself and your family on concussion prevention and treatment for a child;

(ii) if you are accessing the materials as an athletics coach or on behalf of a school organization, you may use the Concussion Program Materials to promote concussion safety to your staff, students and athletes and to create appropriate concussion management procedures; and

(iii) if you are a healthcare provider, you may use the Concussion Program Materials for your personal, professional development to enhance your medical knowledge in the field of concussions. You acknowledge the Concussion Program Materials are not to be used as definitive diagnostic tools with any specific patient and your independent medical judgment will be used to treat any patient.

You must maintain all CHOA proprietary notices on the Concussion Program Materials. You may not copy, modify, adapt, reverse engineer or create derivative works of the Concussion Program Materials or remove any copyright or other proprietary rights notices therefrom. Notwithstanding the foregoing, where indicated in the Concussion Program Materials, schools and sports organizations are permitted to co-brand certain of the Concussion Program Materials with CHOA’s prior written consent. Additionally, schools, sports programs and recreational leagues may put their own logo on the Concussion Policy and modify it to meet their needs. CHOA may update, replace or remove some or all of the Concussion Program Materials from time to time, and you should check back with the website to determine if the Concussion Program Materials you downloaded are current.

2. Reservation of Rights. Except for the limited license provided to you in Section 1 of this Agreement, no express or implied license, right, or ownership interest of any kind is granted to you with respect to any of the Concussion Program Materials or any copyrights, trademarks, or other intellectual property rights therein. CHOA reserves all rights not expressly granted in this Agreement.

3. Disclaimer of Medical Advice. The Concussion Program Materials do not constitute specific medical advice and are provided as information resources only. The Concussion Program Materials do not create a patient-physician relationship and should not be used as a substitute for professional advice and treatment from a licensed doctor. In the case of a concern, a medical professional should be consulted. In the event of an emergency, you should call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department immediately. By licensing the Concussion Program Materials, CHOA is not assuming any duty to update the Concussion Program Materials, and you are responsible for reviewing and approving the Concussion Program Materials for your use.

4. No Warranties. While CHOA makes efforts to provide materials that accurately reflect the research and information CHOA is authorized to make available publicly, THE CONCUSSION PROGRAM AND ALL RELATED MATERIALS ARE MADE AVAILABLE TO YOU ON AN “AS IS” BASIS AND CHOA DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL WARRANTIES, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

5. Limitation of Liability. IN NO EVENT WILL CHOA OR ITS AFFILIATES, OR ANY OF THE OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, SHAREHOLDERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS OR REPRESENTATIVES OF CHOA OR ITS AFFILIATES, BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR LOSS OF GOODWILL OR PROFIT IN ANY WAY ARISING FROM OR RELATING TO THIS AGREEMENT OR THE MATERIALS, HEREUNDER, INCLUDING THE FAILURE OF ESSENTIAL PURPOSE, EVEN IF NOTIFIED OF THE POSSIBILITY OR LIKELIHOOD OF SUCH DAMAGES. IN ANY EVENT, THE LIABILITY OF CHOA AND ITS AFFILIATES, AND THE OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, SHAREHOLDERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS AND REPRESENTATIVES OF CHOA AND ITS AFFILIATES, FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER, SHALL NOT EXCEED ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS.

6. Governing Law. This Agreement shall be construed and governed in accordance with the laws of the State of Georgia of the United States of America, without regard to its rules regarding conflicts of law.

7. General. This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the parties regarding its subject matter and supersedes any prior understanding or agreement respecting the subject matter of this Agreement. You irrevocably waive any and all right to trial by jury in any legal proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement or Concussion Program Materials. If any provision of this Agreement is held invalid, the remainder of this Agreement will continue in full force and effect.

Neurosciences Research

We’re seeking better treatments for conditions that affect the brain and spine.

We’re seeking better treatments for conditions that affect the brain and spine.

About Us

Children’s Center for Neurosciences Research is a collaborative effort with Emory University, Georgia Institute of Technology and the Morehouse School of Medicine. Our team is dedicated to finding innovative therapies for children with brain and spine conditions.

Researchers are seeking preventive, diagnostic and wellness strategies for children with serious medical illnesses or challenges. Our studies focus on everything from brain tumors and traumatic injuries to the psychological and cognitive aspects of disease and injury, and much more.

Our Research

Brain tumor

Nanotechnology studies

Barun Brahma, M.D., Tobey MacDonald, M.D., and researchers from Georgia Tech and Emory University published ground-breaking brain tumor research in the journal Nature Materials. This new treatment approach uses nanotechnology to direct tumor cells outside of the brain where they can be isolated and killed.

In 2010, the Georgia Institute of Technology received the EUREKA grant (Exceptional, Unconventional Research Enabling Knowledge Acceleration) from the National Institutes of Health for research by Drs. Brahma and MacDonald, and Ravi Bellamkonda, Ph.D. (Georgia Tech). The grant will allow researchers to design a treatment for brain tumors that would direct tumor cells through a scaffold to a sink, located on the brain’s surface, which would contain medicine to kill the cells.

Stem cells: Along with colleagues at the Emory Department of Neurosurgery, Tracy-Ann Read, Ph.D., is studying medulloblastoma, a type of brain tumor that occurs in infants and young children, and cancer stem cells in the central nervous system.

Brain tumor staining: Drs. Brahma and Bellamkonda are conducting a donor-funded research study to use nanotechnology to help surgeons distinguish brain tumors from healthy brain tissue.

Drug therapy: Dr. MacDonald is leading a study to develop a drug therapy, as an alternative to radiation therapy, to stop the spread of medulloblastoma.

Traumatic brain injury

Our researchers are working with colleagues at Emory University and Georgia Institute of Technology to investigate coagulopathy in children with severe traumatic injury, focusing on the role of platelet dysfunction. Coagulopathy is a condition that affects the blood’s ability to clot properly, which can cause prolonged or excessive bleeding. Platelets are small cell fragments in the bloodstream that aid in the clotting process.

The study—Investigation of Coagulopathy After Severe Traumatic Brain Injury in Children with Emphasis on the Role of Platelet Dysfunction—is being conducted by Andrew Reisner, M.D., Jeanne Hendrickson, Joshua Chern, M.D., Ph.D., Silvia Bunting, M.D., and others.

Spine

Secondary spine injuries

Spinal cord injury involves a primary and secondary injury process. The primary cause is the initial impact, compression and resulting damage to nerve cells, blood vessels, bone and other structures. The secondary injury process involves swelling and hemorrhage, which leads to decreased blood flow and causes even greater damage to cells. Our researchers are working with colleagues at the Georgia Institute of Technology to reduce secondary injury due to spinal cord injury.

Spine immobilization techniques

A halo brace keeps a child's head and neck in place after a spinal injury so the vertebrae can heal. Halos are an important part of the immobilization process, but they’re difficult for children.

David Wrubel, M.D., and Barun Brahma, M.D., performed the first study to focus on the use of inside-outside occipital screws in children (including patients under 4) to avoid the use of halo brace. Our neurosurgeons found the screws to be a useful part of occipitocervical instrumentation in patients between the ages of 2 and 15. This instrumentation has a higher pullout strength with a greater degree of immobilization, which limits the need for halo orthosis.

Neuropsychology

Neuropsychology research aims to understand how the structure and function of the brain relate to specific psychological processes. Our neuropsychology researchers conduct studies to discover new ways of assessing and treating children with brain injury or disease.

Our neuropsychology researchers are investigating areas such as:

Cognitive remediation: Cognitive remediation therapy (CRT) is a treatment that’s used to improve cognitive skills such as attention, memory, information processing, problem solving, organization and planning. Our researchers are examining the effectiveness of CRT by testing children before and after receiving CRT and evaluating the effects of parental engagement.

Heart disease: Research shows a relationship between congenital (present at birth) heart disease (CHD) and neurodevelopmental problems. Researchers are analyzing neurodevelopmental follow up in children born with heart disease to look for signs of brain injury before and after open heart surgery. They’re also collecting neuropsychological test results from children with cardiac transplants and CHD to explore school-age and adolescent outcomes.

Rehabilitation: During inpatient rehab, researchers are monitoring recovery and identifying predictors of outcomes for children with moderate to severe traumatic brain injuries. In addition, researchers are collecting data on children with anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis (swelling in the brain caused by an immune reaction). They’re using the data to identify outcome predictors and investigate recovery progress during the initial years after diagnosis.

Premature birth: Researchers are assessing infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) who have been diagnosed with a neurological condition, such as cerebral palsy or stroke. They will be following these children during early childhood to assess the children’s development and help identify at-risk infants.